NO LIMITATIONS: Beautiful San Francisco – Pinoy Heaven

By Atty Ted Laguatan

San Francisco, California. When former USSR Head of State Mikhail Gorbachev visited the San Francisco Bay Area – half seriously, he said “Residents here should pay higher taxes because this place is so beautiful and pleasant.” I absolutely agree as to the “beautiful and pleasant” part. The “higher taxes” part let’s just skip.

Allow me to do some bragging. I have travelled the world: Rome, Paris, Geneva, London, Brussels, Bonn, Rio, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Seoul, Prague, Madrid New York, etc., etc. – but as crooned by Tony Bennett - my heart is in San Francisco. It’s also in Manila where I was born and in Quezon City where I spent my earlier years and went to college and in Makati where I also now have a residence.

Hills, mountains, ocean, quiet lonely beaches, redwood forests with the oldest living trees in the planet, clean air, clear blue skies and starry nights – these I love so much. Add cool Baguio-like weather during summers and mild no snow winters. Even the occasional fog which is not pea-soup thick like London’s brings a romantic aura to this incredible “city by the bay”. One cannot find a greater racial and cultural diversity than in this area where great Universities like Stanford, University of San Francisco and Santa Clara, University of California – have student populations that are half non-Caucasians and predominantly Asian. Here also are great museums, fabulous swimming pool -sized public aquariums featuring sharks and giant fishes, an excellent zoo stacked with the world’s exotic animals , sports arenas, modern computerized libraries and America’s computer technology center called Silicon Valley.

A couple of hours away East is Napa Valley, wine country where the wines produced compare with Europe’s best. Another two hours farther is Reno, a world-renowned gaming and entertainment center and the nearby scenic resort town of Lake Tahoe surrounded by majestic snow capped mountains. A couple of hours away South is Monterey’s famous “17 Mile Drive” which snakes along the Pacific Coastline with beautiful views and featuring the legendary Pebble Beach golf course and fabulous homes of the rich and famous including that of “Dirty Harry” Clint Eastwood.

I moved to San Francisco from Chicago in January 1975 – not knowing what to do with my life. Three years earlier, 1972 - martial law was declared in the Philippines and I could not return home after some studies in Chicago. I was stuck. Three years later, the dictatorship was even more formidably in place. I had already gotten married and now had a one year old boy and a one month old girl. I did not want to get stuck in Chicago’s concrete jungles, its extreme cold and extreme heat weather and pervasive mafia culture . This is not to say that Chicago does not have good qualities because it does. I met many good people there.

The move to California was truly a “bahala na Diyos” (“take a chance”) decision as I and my young wife hardly knew anybody here and had little money in our pockets. Fortunately my wife is a registered nurse and immediately got a job at Stanford University Medical Center. We were bone poor living on a tightly budgeted income – oh but how happy we were arriving in such a beautiful setting with our two little babies. I’ve never equated happiness with money – even if it sometimes helps. I couldn’t get much of a job with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from UP .

I really did not know what I would do when I arrived in the San Francisco area. My only guide was to be true to my Center. I discovered a quiet place across the Golden Gate bridge and directly below it where I could fish and do some crabbing and be in solitude and refer the question of what to do with my life to a Higher Power – my Center. In this special quiet place where I had a great view of the bridge and heard the lonely foghorns of ships coming and going – I spent long hours sometimes until 4 o’clock in the morning by myself – well not really, I felt my Center was always with me. I caught dozens of Dungeness and red crabs – no legal catch limits yet at that time. I also caught flounder, snapper, shark and other kinds of fish. I caught so much there was no more room in our freezer – so I often just gave my catch to neighbors. It was here that I made the final decision to go to law school – but where would I get the money involving thousands of dollars? Again, “bahala na ang Diyos” and by a miracle, I got to law school – but that’s another story.

Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos live in the San Francisco – enjoying all the bounties of the land and the culture. Not only are practically all Filipino foods available here including vegetables and fruits like Mexican grown Philippine Carabao mango - but also the delicious foods of the rest of the world. The finest authentic Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Italian, French and of course Filipino and American steak restaurants are found here.

San Francisco was the center of activism against the Marcos dictatorship. It continues to be the center of political activities relating to Philippine affairs.

Yes – San Francisco is now home – just like the Philippines. A pinoy heaven on earth. I love it.
Note: Atty. Laguatan is officially certified by the California State Bar as an expert/specialist lawyer. He is rated by a lawyer’s magazine as among the best five percent of lawyers in America. For communications: 455 Hickey Blvd. Ste. 516, Daly City, Ca 94015 or 101 California St., San Francisco, Ca 94111. Tel 650 991-1154 Fax 650 991-1186 Email laguatanlaw@gmail.com

FROM THE CAPITOL: International Violence Against Women Act

By Senator Leland Yee

The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), currently pending in US Congress, would task the US Agency for International Development and the Department of State to develop strategies and direct resources to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls throughout the world. The Act would include collecting data and conducting research about violence prevention efforts, enhance training of military and police forces on violence against women, and authorize $5,000,000 to support the United Nations’ efforts to eliminate violence against women.
This is why I have authored Senate Joint Resolution 24 urging Congress to pass IVAWA. Violence against women is rooted in many causes and takes many forms throughout all parts of the world. It is imperative that while we attempt to end violence against women in our own communities, we support global efforts to combat this injustice everywhere. SJR 24 will send a very clear message to Washington: ending and preventing violence against women should be a priority of our foreign policy.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately one in three women in the world will experience violence in her lifetime, and one in five of the women in the world will be the victim of rape or attempted rape. A United Nations study on the global AIDS epidemic found that in sub-Saharan Africa, women who are 15 to 24 years of age can be infected at rates that are up to six times higher than men of the same age.

Violence against women is an impediment to the health, opportunity, and development of not only women, but has an enormous, negative impact on the well-being of their children and the greater society. Violence against women impoverishes women, their families, their communities and nations. It lowers economic production, drains resources from public services and employers, and reduces human capital formation.

Greater gender equality has been proved to lead to improved nutrition, lower child mortality, less government corruption, higher productivity, and reduced HIV infection rates. Increased access to economic opportunities is crucial to the prevention of and response to domestic and sexual violence. Campaigns to change social norms, including community organizing, media campaigns, and efforts to engage and educate men and boys, have been shown to change attitudes that condone and tolerate violence against women and girls and reduce violence and abuse.

According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID): 70 percent of people worldwide living in poverty are women and children, two-thirds of the illiterate adults in the world are women, two-thirds of school-aged children who are not in school are girls, more than three-quarters of the refugees in the world are women and children, and 1,600 women die unnecessarily every day during pregnancy and childbirth.

In addition to SJR 24, I have introduced two additional bills to assist victims of domestic violence. SB 662 would increase marriage license fees by $10 to provide an additional $2.5 million to $5 million annually for domestic violence shelters. SB 782 would prevent landlords from unfairly evicting victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.

I am also leading a statewide effort, called the “White Ribbon Campaign,” for men to speak out against violence against women. Individuals interested in joining the White Ribbon Campaign are encouraged to visit my website at www.senate.ca.gov/yee.

STREET TALK: The work hasn’t even begun

By Greg Macabenta

If we are to believe the pundits, the manipulators and the masters of intrigue, President-elect Noynoy Aquino is already mired in a quicksand of conflict within his camp – the result of victorious allies now turning on each other instead of on the enemy.

We are reading column items written by folks who used to concentrate their firepower on the Manny Villars and the Erap Estradas, now heaping unflattering adjectives on erstwhile allies. Of course, this is not surprising. Allies are often glued together by the fact that they have a common enemy. But when that enemy is vanquished, their latent animosity emerges and they turn on each other.

One reason is the cliff-hanger vice-presidential contest. This is understandable. The stakes are high and the contenders have invested considerable resources to win the prize. You can't stop people from taking sides. Nasty language is to be expected, no matter how civil those involved may want to portray themselves.

But there are other stakes involved, most of all, the welfare of the country. The contenders and their supporters should not forget that. Their work has not even begun. Infighting will impair their ability to do a good job. And their enemies would like nothing better than to see them fail.
The other reason is the reported fight over turf and the spoils. This is normal. In the aftermath of any conflict, there will be spoils. Not wanting to partake of them takes a great deal of self-control and a capacity for abstinence.

After World War II, with Hitler vanquished, the allies immediately engaged in a struggle over turf and spoils. Among other things, this resulted in the partitioning of Germany.
But, given this reality, there is every reason to believe that the various factions in the Aquino-Roxas camp have the capacity to set aside their differences and focus on the task at hand. After all, while the battle for the presidency has been won, the war against poverty and corruption stilll has to be fought, and the struggle to arrest the erosion of the values, resources and the future of the country still has to be undertaken.
Wasn’t this what brought these diverse factions together, in the first place? Aren’t they duty-bound to pursue their avowed mission?

I’m reminded of our efforts to ensure the proper observance in the US of the first centennial of the declaration of Philippine independence on June 12, 1996. In many cities, we had to deal with the problem of rival community organizations competing with each other for the most meaningful and most impressive commemoration of the historic event.

Because I was a pro bono deputy executive director for the US of the commission, I was caught in the middle of some of these conflicts. In one instance, I was asked to join Consul General Josue Villa in mediating one such dispute between two FilAm federations in Las Vegas over the conflicting schedule of activities that the two groups were lining up.

Addressing the rivals, I said that theirs was not an unusual case. I pointed out that during the Philippine revolution, the Katipunan had two factions, the Magdalo of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, and the Magdiwang, which supported Supremo Andres Bonifacio.

But both factions acknowledged that they were fighting for the same cause, liberty, and against a common enemy, Spain. And they realized that the only way to defeat the enemy and achieve their goal was to fight alongside each other, despite their rivalry.

“That’s all I ask of you,” I concluded. “You don’t have to like each other. You just need to be willing to work with each other to ensure a successful centennial celebration.”
I reminded them that success would enhance the image and prestige of the FilAm community in Las Vegas and failure would embarrass them all.
After my remarks, the leader of one federation stood up and declared, “I don’t like them, but I’m willing to work with them.”
Not to be outdone, the head of the other federation also spoke up. “We don’t like you either, but we’re willing to work with you.”

Having said that, the two groups sat down to reconstitute the centennial festival committees, making sure that each group had a significant role in the event. The result was a very successful commemoration of the centennial in Las Vegas, with both groups sharing in the credit.

I guess, the same could be said to the groups in the Aquino-Roxas camp who are rumored to be competing and intriguing against each other. I say, “rumored,” because, having spent my younger years in showbusiness, as a reporter and as a movie insider, I know that molehills tend to grow into mountains as word is passed on from ear to ear. Often, the intrigue is fanned by the “alalays” or the underlings, eager to score brownie points with their bosses.

Some people relish the intrigue, and don’t allow facts to get in the way of their fiction. But it would be a mistake to ignore the normal conflicts that are part of the aftermath of an election campaign, where there are winners and there are losers and where there are those who still are uncertain if they have won or lost.

For sure, people are jockeying for media mileage, whether belonging to the Jojo Binay camp or to that of Mar Roxas. Some folks are firm believers that perception is reality and the stronger they can create the perception, the greater the possibility that reality will follow.

And yet the reality is what will result from the canvass that the Congress will hold. Whatever perceptions are being developed by publicists and media allies, the harsh reality of a winner and a loser will eventuality dawn on everyone.

But none of that should detract from another harsh reality, which is that the real war has not yet been won, the struggle isn’t over, the promises haven’t been fulfilled, in fact, the work has not yet begun, and everyone involved in making those promises and raising the expectations of the Filipino people have a moral responsibility to deliver on their promises, whatever their loyalties, agendas or personal feelings.

In other words, whether they like each other or not, they all agreed at the outset to address a common challenge, they vowed to carry a common burden, they made loud and solemn promises to millions in this country, and they are duty-bound to make good on those promises. Otherwise, their credibility will be suffer.
But the only way they can succeed is to agree to work with each other, whether they like each other or not.

The only way they can help Noynoy Aquino to succeed is by agreeing to carry their part of the load, even if they dislike some of those who are sharing the burden. It will take some degree of heroism and nobility on their part. Setting aside selfish interests for the greater good is easy to say but not easy to do. Yet it can be done.
Wasn’t it Ninoy Aquino who declared that the Filipino is worth dying for? For that, he gave up his life.
Surely, it’s so much easier giving up personal agendas and personal loyalties than giving up one’s life.
(gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)